M. Talbot

The Children's Aid Society of the Niagara Region brought a motion to dispense with service on the respondent mother in a child protection proceeding.

The child had been removed from the mother's care on October 25, 2024, and placed in the Society's care.

The Society argued that despite numerous attempts to locate and serve the mother—including phone calls, contact with family members, probation services, newspaper advertisements, and outreach to the alleged father—all efforts had been futile.

The mother had not attended court appearances or exercised access to the child.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that the Society had not met the stringent requirements under Rule 6(16) of the Family Law Rules to dispense with service.

This decision concerns the youth sentencing of J.S., who was found guilty of attempted murder, aggravated assault, and sexual assault after a jury trial.

The Crown's application to sentence J.S. as an adult was previously dismissed.

The court applied the principles of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), emphasizing accountability, rehabilitation, and reintegration, while also considering the diminished moral blameworthiness of youth.

Aggravating factors included intimate partner violence, use of a weapon, unprovoked attack, victim vulnerability, serious injuries, and the offender leaving the victim to die.

Mitigating factors included no prior record and a pro-social life.

The court imposed a blended youth sentence, balancing denunciation and deterrence with rehabilitation, resulting in secure custody, open custody, and community supervision.

The accused was charged with arson and manslaughter following a fatal fire at a rooming house.

The Crown's case relied heavily on two alleged confessions by the accused and his history of making threats to burn down the building.

The court found significant credibility and reliability issues with the Crown witnesses, many of whom suffered from mental health issues or had extensive criminal records.

Furthermore, the presence of a plausible alternate suspect with a motive raised a reasonable doubt.

The accused was found not guilty on both charges.

During a trial for arson and manslaughter, the Crown brought an application to admit the preliminary hearing testimony of two missing witnesses under the principled exception to the hearsay rule.

The court found the necessity requirement was met because police made reasonable efforts to locate the transient witnesses.

The reliability requirement was also met as the evidence was given under oath and subject to contemporaneous cross-examination.

The application was granted and the audio recordings were admitted into evidence.